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It's been years since I've heard "Panis Angelicus" at Mass. I tried to get them to let the kids (mine included)sing it for their First Holy Communion last year but was told, "Oh, they can't memorize that. It's too hard."

Nevermind that MY kid already knew the words ("Panis Angelicus" is included on Luciano Pavarotti's O Holy Night album which we listen to every Christmas season), or that we all sang it for our own First Communions. In fact, I think it was sung at EVERY First Communion ceremony I attended when I was a kid.

I guess they just think the little tykes today are not as bright as we all were back in the day. I disagree.

Regards,

PS: The songs they DID sing? "Table of Plenty" and "I Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down In My Heart." BLEEEECHHH. You know it's bad when your Lutheran mother-in-law is clapping away, exclaiming, "Why, it's just like Vacation Bible School!"

I could see in her eyes that she was relieved that this whole First Communion thing wasn't too....(shhhh!) Catholic.

"Why, it's just like Vacation Bible School!"

I have heard an almost identical comment from a converted Lutheran friend in our parish, only she said "...just like the songs in Vacation Bible camp".
She made it clear that these songs would never make it in her Lutheran Church but they were just fine in Bible camp.

We have much of history's best sacred music at our disposal and we buy and use OCP pop-slop crapola.
No wonder so many of us are disgusted with our bishops. I am especially disgusted with my bishop, the publisher-in-chief of OCP.

I think that it is greatly underestimating children to think that they can't learn a hymn in a foreign language. After all, childhood is the very best time to learn a foreign language and kids pick it up quickly. In my Catholic elementary school we gave a Christmas program every year and sang carols in Latin, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. We had no trouble at all learning the words.